A Man Who Lost The World
by SinsForSure
Summary: 5.22 Coda - Castiel never fails to meet Dean at the park bench. Dean takes solace in that, until a stranger proves that is not enough. Dean/Castiel pre-slash


"You know, he's all kinds of adorable."

Dean looks up, frowning. A man, probably in his late twenties or early thirties is looking down at him from his place at the bench. "What?"

The guy smiles at him, sitting down the other side of the bench. Dean automatically frowns and the guy definitely sees it. "Don't worry, I won't be long. The guy with the the trench coat, he's coming in about…" he looks down at his watch then back up at Dean, "Twenty minutes, right?"

"Alright, who are you? My creepy stalker?" Dean asks, his voice a soft growl. In turn, the guy just laughs, completely unaffected by the way Dean is now glaring murderously at him.

"You can say that," the guy answers. "But it's completely unintentional. Mind you, we were here first."

Dean looks from the man to the monkey bars, the frown still gracing his face. "Who are 'we,' exactly?"

Dean does not see it, but the guy shrugs, his eyes shining against the sunlight. "Jacob and I. He is not here today, though." Then he coughs heavily, making Dean look at him. The man is bending over, a hand over his chest, the other curled into a fist against his mouth. Dean watches, his face blank until the guy stops.

"Are you alright?" he asks, after the leans back against the bench, taking deep breaths. He turns back to Dean and nods. "I'm Matthew, by the way. I'd shake your hand but…" He shrugs, waving his right hand that he just coughed into.

"I'm Dean," he mutters in return, before looking across the park again. Matthew sits silently on the other side of the bench for the next couple of minutes, before he breaks into another grin.

"As I was saying, yeah. Jacob and I got here first. Then, you and that other cutie just started showing up on this bench and talking every week, every Monday or Friday. Sometimes you don't even talk. You just sit here."

"That's really creepy you know, since I've never seen you around," Dean says, turning his head to look at Matthew, who is staring at the sky.

"Well, just because you don't see us, it doesn't mean we're not here. We're here almost always the same hours of every day. You're too caught up on each other." Matthew smiles, before closing his eyes. "Jacob thinks you guys are adorable."

Dean blinks, his face heating up slightly, turning his head away. "Uh, we…we're not. Cas and I…"

"Cas? Is that Inspector Gadget's name?"

Dean finds himself nodding, smirking slightly. "Yeah…Castiel."

"That's an interesting name," Matthew says, his eyes one again on Dean. "And we know you guys aren't together."

"Then why…" Dean starts, before Matthew puts his hand up again, this time to stop him from talking.

"You guys get caught in your own world. I can see it. Jacob can see it. Hell, those ladies over there," he says, pointing at two women talking animatedly across from them, as they watch their kids play in the sandbox, "Left you guys alone, and they're usually all over any men that set foot on these parts."

Matthew smiles and Dean notices how glassy his eyes are in the sun, "Everyone sees it, you know? Except you."

Again, Dean looks away, shaking his head. "We're just friends."

"Yeah?" Matthew prompts and Dean can feel his gaze digging at his temple. "Best friends?"

Dean snorts. "You can say that. We've been through… a lot. And he had to…go back home. After all of it."

"Does he live far?" Matthew questions, his voice airy. Dean cannot help but laugh.

"Fuckin' far."

Once again, there is silence between them. Dean glances at Matthew and sees him staring before his eyebrows furrow.

"Bullshit."

"Definitely not bullshit," Dean answers automatically. _Heaven's nowhere near here_, he adds in his thoughts. Then, he hears Matthew laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Your bullshit," he says, in between breaths. "If he's gone somewhere 'fucking far,' why are you guys here once a week? Why does he come here once a week, to sit on a bench with you, hours at a time?"

Dean shrugs, "He has the technology." And Castiel does.

Matthew shakes his head, his blond hair falling in front of his face as he leans his elbows on his knees. "Ah, whatever man. I'm just saying, even if he's left, he's still here, and you act like he's left you forever and said goodbye for good."

Dean looks up sharply, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "Look man, you don't know me." Castiel did say goodbye, the moment he got his mojo back.

"I may not, but I definitely see you right now. And I've seen you after he leaves. Jacob too. You look like a man who lost the world." Matthew says this without looking at Dean. In fact, his eyes are close, his face calm. Then, almost immediately, he grimaces, and then another coughing fit hits and racks his frame.

"Woah, hey," Dean says, blinking and sliding closer towards Matthew. "What the hell, are you sick?" He waits—and watches—as the entirety of the man's body quakes beside him, before steadying completely. Then, Matthew looks up, eyes upward.

"What are you afraid of, Dean?"

"Huh?"

Matthew sits up straight, taking in a deep breath. "You sit here, the same hour of the same day every week, without fail. You wait for him, patiently. Then, he leaves. Or sometimes, you walk together away from here. I see how you look at each other, as if you can't have one another. Why not?"

Dean blinks, staring at Matthew. And Matthew is staring right back at him, his head tilted slightly sideways. Unconsciously, he smiles, because the gesture is so familiar. Then, he sighs. "He has his family…and I have mine." Then he looks down, "He left me for his."

"Did he really? Because, by the looks of it, he didn't leave at all."

Matthew looks down at his watch, smiling shakily at Dean. "All I'm saying is...you shouldn't waste time." Then he stands up, tapping his wrist. "Twenty minutes up."

Dean nods, and sure enough, Castiel appears behind Matthew, walking towards them. Matthew blinks at Dean then turns. He gives Castiel a small smile, before turning back to cast Dean a weak wave. "Just, think about it, alright?"

Again, Dean finds himself nodding, watching as Matthew walks pass him. Then, he glances back and finds himself watching the man until he disappears.

"Dean?"

He turns around and finds Castiel standing close to him, a blank look on his face. Dean, instead of being indignant about the close proximity, finds himself smiling. "Hey Cas."

"Who was that?" Castiel asks, as he sits down beside Dean. With a shrug, Dean smiles.

"Just…a friend."

-ooooo-

Matthew grins as a dark haired man swoops him into his arms the moment he turns the corner by the big tree on the other side of the park. "Hey Jacob…"

"Mmm, are you done being a Good Samaritan now?" Matthew looks up at the man looking down at him worryingly, his hand coming up to stroke his face. "You look pale, and you're shaking."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Matthew answers, smiling as Jacob presses a soft kiss against his forehead. "And I think they'll be too."

"Leather and Trench?" Matthew laughs, nodding his head. "Yeah…Dean and Castiel."

Jacob smiles, before holding Matthew close again. "Well, Dean and Castiel or whoever those two are better appreciate." Then, he sighs and strokes Matthew's hair. "Come on, let's get you back to the hospital."

Matthew nods, shooting one last glance behind him, before grabbing hold of Jacob's hand.


End file.
